Snacking the Way to Higher Health Costs?

You can now add into the cost of a bag of chips an additional premium to your health insurance.  More companies are looking for ways to offset the rising costs of healthcare and, after cutting benefits to "alternative" treatments such as chiropractic and massage, they are looking for more ways to save.  Enter the age of the healthcare penalty premium.  Here's how it works: your company requires to to submit to a health evaluation (which may consist of anything from weight and blood pressure screening to a complete work-up of your daily habits).  Then, your company evaluates the results and determines whether you meet predetermined markers for health.  If you do not you can be charged a higher rate for healthcare premiums or will be asked to participate in a program to address your healthcare issues to hold the increased rate in abeyance.  

Or, your company may want to mirror the policy CVS has enacted.  "A new policy by CVS Pharmacy requires every one of its nearly 200,000 employees who use its health plan to submit their weight, body fat, glucose levels and other vitals or pay a monthly fine" according to Steve Osunsami of ABC News.  That fine is $50 per month and employees that agree to submit their health stats through a work-up by their doctor will not see an increase.  Think of it as an opt out program.  The idea is similar to that of companies who automatically enroll all eligible employees in a retirement savings plan and force employees to take an action to opt out.  

This, of course, creates quite a push back from not only individual employees who see this as an unfair practice and an invasion of their privacy but also from groups like the Patient Privacy Rights.  Founder DR. Deborah Peel states: "The approach their taking is based on the assumption that somehow these employees need....to be penalized in order to make themselves healthy". 

The practice, though, of passing along a "surcharge" for an unhealthy lifestyle is not relatively new. But what about offering a carrot to those employees who participate in company wellness programs?  Surely that must be okay, right?  In fact, industry experts like benefits consultant Towers Watson, predict a significant rise in the number of companies that implement the practice.  In the New York Times article The Smoker's Surcharge, Reed Abelson points to a concern.  "Some benefits specialists and health experts say programs billed as incentives for wellness, by offering discounted health insurance, can become punitive for people who suffer from health problems that are not completely under their control".   

So....what to do?  Let me throw one final thing out there to think about.  Choice.  How much of an employee's health is related to the choices they make?  Choices in the foods they eat, the level of activity they have, etc..  Where do you draw the line of personal and governmental responsibility (for allowing the phenomenal rise in artificial ingredients and food processing)?

Okay....off my soap box now...

Making Good Health a Competition

I recently received a $50 Target gift card in the mail. I received this gift card because I filled out a health questionnaire for my organization's health care plan. Getting $50 to spend at "Tarjay" was easier than having a birthday (because I wasn't a year older). The gift card was an incentive, one of many various organizations use in an attempt to raise the health-consciousness of their employees. 

This wasn't the first attempt by my organization to form a healthier workforce. In the past we had the "Take the Stairs" challenge where employees were encouraged to use the stairs rather than the elevator. When the challenge first began there was a communication push tied to a contest on how many flights total tallied up. Since that initial push, the most that has happened is doodling on the stairwell sign-in sheets. Then there was the challenge for who could walk the most steps in a span of time. Each participant was given a pedometer and teams were formed, mainly based on the floor your office was located on. None of these seemed to make an effective, lasting impact. Was there some value in these efforts - yes. They were low cost and did lead to re-focusing attention on employees' health.

Why did my organization take the time and effort to partner and promote these challenges? Health care costs. It's a fairly straight line from the aggregated health of your employees to the costs of health care premiums. Healthy people tend to use their health care benefits less often, tend to use less sick days, and are more productive. Apparently a healthier workforce also results in less presenteeism (don't worry, I had to look it up too). Presenteeism, according to the CDC is "the measurable extent to which health symptoms, conditions, and diseases adversely affect the work productivity of individuals who choose to remain at work".

According to statistics noted in "Pitting Employees Against Each Other...for Health" and appearing the Wall Street Journal, 60% of employers polled by consultants and the National Business Group on Health indicate their future health initiatives will include online games and other competitions between employee groups or locations.  After reading this, I began to question just how effective are these methods for bolstering the health of employees? To answer, I considered the challenge for walking the most steps. After participants received their pedometers it wasn't long until word spread that you could "tip the scales in your favor" by jiggling the pedometer (no walking needed). I'm afraid the message on health was lost on some employees. 

How do you ensure participants in health games are not cheating? You could require they use "tamper-proof" devices like digital pedometers or heart-rate monitors like those used with Humana's incentive program HumanaVitality. This may cause other issues, though, like backlash from employees who feel their privacy invaded. "The more you make it formal, the more burdensome it might feel", states health and welfare benefits leader Carolyn Plummer.  

I guess we will stick with our small, low cost efforts for now....

Keep 'Em Happy And The Rest Will Follow

Employee perks - two words that you don't often hear together when corporate coffers are tightly locked. While it is true that the first benefits to be placed on the chopping block when the economy heads for the deep end are tertiary benefits, making the effort to offer low-cost perks can reap considerable rewards for a company. Certainly, the retention of talented employees can offer a competitive advantage in any economic climate. Lower turnover relates to less spent on new-hire training. Employees in a company that offers perks are more apt to stay loyal to the company once the economy gets above water. The 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefit Trends puts it best:

This year’s findings reveal a workforce that has grown more dissatisfied and disloyal, to the point where one in three employees hopes to be working elsewhere in the next twelve months. Yet employers do not appear to be tuned in to this potential flight risk. Focused on the challenging business environment, employers remain confident of strong levels of employee job satisfaction and loyalty. A loyal and satisfied workforce is part of the foundation of business growth. Widening cracks in this foundation may force employers to pay a price in reduced retention and productivity when the job market improves.

Perks can be lofty, such as those offered by Clif Bar: generous merchandise discounts, on-site gym, concierge service, reimbursement for "going green" via up to $500 in reimbursement for purchasing a commuter bicycle, and an on-site restaurant. Perks can also run toward the frugal end such as those that are low to no-cost; a sampling includes:

• relaxing the dress code (e,g, allowing business casual everyday)
• free snacks
• allowing employees to bring a pet to work (designated "dog days")
• job sharing/flexible scheduling
• a wellness program
• education plan (lower cost professional development courses, integrated with a succession plan) 

For additional ideas take a look at articles from HR World: Building Company Loyalty With Unusual Benefits or 25 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime).